Tehran (AFP) – Iran held a send-off ceremony Wednesday for the national football team as it prepared to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The players, dressed in red and black tracksuits, were presented at a stage in the central Tehran square of Enghelab, where crowds of people cheered for them, according to videos aired on state TV. Coach Amir Ghalenoei and the president of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, were also present.
“The national team players in the World Cup will represent the people, the country’s fighters, the leader (supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei), and the country,” said Taj. “Our national team is the national football team of wartime,” he said, adding that the team would be a “pillar of authority and resistance.”
People at the ceremony waved flags and belted out chants and slogans, some holding placards and pictures of late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed during the US-Israel attacks on Iran that triggered the Middle East war. “For the blood of the martyrs, sing the national anthem with firmness and without hesitation,” read one placard.
Iran, who are due to be based in Tucson, Arizona during the World Cup, face New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt in Group G. The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
© 2024 AFP
